The recipe
A Chicken-Based Brunswick Stew from 1961
Brunswick Stew is carried forward in the site’s legacy records as a recipe from Gourmet Cooking with a Flair (1961). The original cookbook page has not yet been attached, so the current recipe card remains a provisional transcription pending source verification.
This version uses chicken with onions, celery, tomatoes, corn and lima beans, seasoned with basil, marjoram, thyme and Tabasco. Cornstarch is added near the end to thicken the broth.
The chicken is browned first, then simmered with the tomatoes, vegetables and herbs before the corn and lima beans are added for the final stretch of cooking. The archive is preserving that chicken-based version exactly as the legacy record currently describes it.
Why it matters
Why This One Is Worth Bringing Back
This Brunswick Stew is worth preserving because it fixes one particular version in place: chicken rather than pork, a tomato-based broth, corn and lima beans, and a final cornstarch thickening step. That specificity matters more than trying to make the recipe conform to every other dish carrying the same name.
The sequence is part of its identity too. The chicken is browned first, the tomato-and-vegetable base simmers with herbs, and the corn and lima beans come later. It reads as a practical, layered stew rather than a dump-and-simmer formula.
That same 1961 collection contains other savory dishes with equally specific choices, including Beef Stroganoff served over rice and a smooth-blended Gazpacho. Together, they make the cookbook more interesting precisely because the recipes resist becoming generic versions of familiar dishes.
Modern kitchen notes
If You're Making It Today
These are modern editorial suggestions, not changes to the archived recipe. When a variation comes directly from the original source, we will say so.
Keep the thickening step gradual
The source uses cornstarch near the end. Add the slurry gradually and give it time to thicken before deciding the stew needs more.
Add the final vegetables late
Corn and lima beans are part of the last stretch of cooking in the archived method. Keeping that order helps preserve their texture instead of simmering them for the full cook time.
Use the archive status as a cue
The current card remains a legacy transcription while the original cookbook page is being re-verified. Keep source-driven changes separate from any modern adjustment until that scan is attached.
Recipe card
The Preserved Recipe
Brunswick Stew
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken diced
- 2 onions sliced
- 1 cup celery chopped with leaves
- ¼ tsp basil
- 1 package frozen corn
- 1 package frozen lima beans
- 4 tbsp butter
- 5 cups canned tomatoes
- ¼ tsp marjoram
- ¼ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp Tabasco Sauce
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp salt
- ½ tbsp pepper
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt and pepper.
- Sautée chicken in butter in deep saucepan for 10 minutes, or until brown. Remove chicken and keep hot.
- Sautée onions in butter remaining in saucepan for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Return chicken to pan and add tomatoes, celery, herbs, Tobasco and 1 cup of water.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Add corn, lima beans and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Combine cornstarch with ¼ cup cold water, and add a small amount of hot liquid from the stew and stir until smooth.
- Stir into stew and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
From the archive
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